Some Other Way
by Allie35
Summary: Regulus Black is in his seventh year at Hogwarts, and nothing is simple or easy. He doesn't want to take sides in the war. So why does he join the Death Eaters--and why does he back out of it?


Some Other Way  
  
Chapter One: An Unlikely Acquaintance  
  
Disclaimer: Most all of this belongs to J.K. Rowling.  
  
Regulus Black was in an unusual—well, unusual for him—pondering mood. As he swaggered down the corridors of Hogwarts in his typical way, he thought again of Kat. Katherine Burkes, his girlfriend. He remembered the very first time they met; it wasn't on the Hogwarts Express, or even when they were both Sorted into Slytherin.  
  
They were six years old when they met. Regulus' father decided that, as a very special treat, he would be allowed to accompany him to Knockturn Alley for "business". So Regulus meandered around the grimy "Borgin and Burkes", somewhat bored, while Rigel Black talked to the owners.  
  
Then, a small face peeked out from behind a doorway. It was girl, with short cropped auburn hair and a grin.  
  
"Come on," she whispered, motioning for him to keep silent.  
  
Bemused, Regulus followed. She led him down a darkened, narrow corridor to another part of the shop.  
  
"Look at this," she whispered. "The Hand of Glory."  
  
And she pointed to a grimy, evil looking, decaying hand. Regulus liked her immediately.  
  
"Who are you?" he wondered. She couldn't be the shopkeeper's daughter. Could she?  
  
"Katherine Burkes. But please, call me Kat. Who're you?"  
  
"Regulus Black. You can call me...Regulus, I guess."  
  
And so began their odd little friendship. His parents disapproved of it, of course. They accused him of "slumming". Sirius, his older brother, couldn't have been more pleased with it. He was always at petty war with their family.  
  
But casual disobedience as a child was worlds away from what Regulus was doing now—a complete betrayal of his parents' trust. They had explicitly told him to have as little to do with Kat Burkes as possible. And here he was, dating her.  
  
It was almost like what Andromeda did when she dated Ted Tonks, a small, rebellious part of him thought. He pushed it away immediately. No, this was nothing like what they did. Kat's as pure-blooded as he is. Just not as well-off.  
  
He was in such a pensive mood that he nearly walked right by a gang of sixth-year Slytherins cornering a first-year girl.  
  
He stopped abruptly as he realized what was going on and realized who the gang was. He absolutely hated them. Their little band had given all of Slytherin a bad name, and in the middle of wartime, it was the last thing Regulus wanted.  
  
"Go back where you came from, Mudblood scum," taunted the leader. "We don't want you here."  
  
Oh, wonderful. No he had to stick up for some Mudblood. Regulus sighed.  
  
"Hey, Crouch!" he called, and the leader turned around. "You seem awfully cocky, considering I whipped you in our duel the other day. But wait—just who are you bullying now? Oh, right. A first-year."  
  
Barty Crouch's handsome face went red as he sneered, "This doesn't concern you, Black. Unless you're a Mudblood lover like your worthless brother."  
  
Regulus felt his stomach drop at the mention of Sirius. He knew it was true what people said about his brother. He also knew he'd be damned if he let this bully insult him.  
  
"Sirius isn't a Mudblood lover! And neither am I. I only can't stand cowards."  
  
"You're saying I'm a coward?"  
  
"You decide. Is bullying a single first year with a group of your friends in a deserted corridor at night cowardly?"  
  
His friends took a step towards him murderously. Regulus got a glimpse of the girl. To his surprise, she didn't look scared or helpless. She was staring at Crouch defiantly.  
  
"You're going to pay, Black." Crouch pointed his wand at Regulus, and opened his mouth to curse him, when the girl's foot swung out.  
  
"Ow!" Crouch crumpled to the floor, clutching his shin. The girl made a run for it, fighting her way through the gang, shouting, "Give me back my wand!"  
  
Regulus spotted it lying on the floor and picked it up. Taking his own wand out, he pointed it at the group.  
  
"Anyone want to try me?" he said. "Or would you be content if I just took points and we forgot about me giving you detention? I have that power. I'm a Prefect, remember?"  
  
They all fell silent. Crouch got to his feet. He jerked his head and the gang stomped off. Crouch was mean, but he wasn't stupid enough to pick a fight with a Prefect.  
  
The curly-haired, freckled girl yanked her wand from his hand and stuck her tongue out at their retreating backs.  
  
"I'd like to curse them," she said, "but I don't know any good ones yet. Thanks for helping me, by the way. It would've taken a lot longer to get them off my back if you hadn't been there."  
  
Regulus stared at her incredulously. Was she insane? Or just an ungrateful brat? Then he saw she was wearing a scarf in his two least favorite colors: red and gold. So he saved not only a Mudblood—but a Gryffindor Mudblood!  
  
Disgusted with himself, and not knowing what to say, he started to walk off.  
  
"Hey, wait up!" she called out, and ran to catch up with him. "What if more of them come back?"  
  
"Then that's your problem, not mine. Go to the library and learn some jinxes. Make some friends and get them to walk with you. I dunno."  
  
She wasn't put off by his rudeness. "Well, I'm going back to the Gryffindor common room. You can take me there. What's your house, by the way?"  
  
"Slytherin," he mumbled. He was glad it was late at night, so no one saw her walking with him.  
  
Her jaw dropped. "Really? But I was told—I mean, I heard that Slytherins were, er..."  
  
"Evil?" he asked sardonically. "What would you know? You're a Mudblood."  
  
"And what does that mean?" she demanded, hands on hips.  
  
He shook his head. Mudbloods really didn't know anything. "You have Muggle parents! You're not—normal wizards. You're...Muggle-borns, that's what people say."  
  
"I've heard that before." They continued walking in silence. Regulus fumed about picking up this infuriating girl.  
  
Finally, as if she couldn't stand the silence, she blurted, "What's your name, anyway? I'm Amy Taylor."  
  
"Regulus Black."  
  
She gasped again. "I've heard about your family! You're..." She trailed off again.  
  
He knew he was turning red; he could feel it. But Amy had no right to make judgment calls on a family that had magic in it for centuries! That had been pure for centuries—until Andromeda messed it up, anyway.  
  
"You're different from what I expected," Amy said. "You're not like the rest of your family, are you?"  
  
He laughed bitterly. "Oh yes I am. You're really thinking of my brother Sirius. He's the different one."  
  
"Oh." She stopped outside a portrait of a fat lady in a rose dress. "I've got to go. I can't wait to tell everybody how I got saved by a Slytherin!"  
  
"Don't you dare," he snapped. "I have a reputation to maintain. And don't come running to me every time you need help, understand? Learn magic yourself—if you're able to."  
  
Amy grinned. "Don't worry about me, Regulus. I'll be fine."  
  
She winked at him and swept through the portrait hole before he had the chance to say another word. Frazzled and unsure of what had happened, Regulus headed back to the Slytherin common room in a daze.  
  
He found Kat waiting up for him in front of the fire.  
  
"Where have you been?" she demanded. "How long does it take to come back from the library?"  
  
"I was...delayed," he whispered, and told her all about it. Kat, who had no prejudices to speak of, was shocked.  
  
"Well," she managed at last, "Good for you. I haven't seen you this perplexed since...anyway, I'd like to meet this Amy."  
  
"Oh, I'm sure we'll be seeing more of her," he answered dryly.  
  
"You don't sound quite so thrilled."  
  
He shrugged. "I keep getting myself into these situations. I'm not...never mind. From now on, I'm going to focus my energy entirely on schoolwork."  
  
She arched an eyebrow. "Only on schoolwork?"  
  
He took the hint. "No. Not when there's something—or rather, someone—who is distracting me."  
  
He wrapped his arms around her and she leaned her head on his shoulder. They snogged for a bit, and then trudged up to their rooms to sleep, completely worn out.  
  
A/N: Please review! Thanks! 


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